Often, as a result of aging, injury, or degenerative diseases such as arthritis, the hands of an individual may involuntarily clench as the fingers contract towards the palm. This involuntary clenching may also be due to inflammation, overuse or repetitive hand motions, swollen joints, damaged tissue or cartilage and other strain induced activities that weaken the muscles and ligaments in the hand. This clenching often occurs more at night while the individual is sleeping and is unable to prevent the clenching. Over time, repeated involuntary hand clenching may result in a reduced range of motion and weakness in the fingers and joints causing the hands to develop a claw like appearance.
Unfortunately, this debilitating and painful condition of involuntary hand clenching usually causes the individual exhibiting such behavior a great deal of distress or embarrassment. These individuals may find it difficult to unclench the hand upon waking This involuntary nocturnal clenching may even interfere with the ability of the individual to enter or maintain sleep. Furthermore, involuntary hand clenching may lead to additional hand and wrist weakness, the inability to hold on to objects, and even the lack of ability to pick up smaller objects. This involuntary clenching of the hands contributes significantly to the number of individuals who eventually become disabled due to the inability to use or work with their hands. According to the Center for Disease Control, more than 27 million Americans—more than 10% of the U.S. population—have been diagnosed with some form of arthritis and is the most common cause of disability among adults.
Currently, treatment for pain and swelling in the hands is limited to the use of compression gloves or varying types of finger splints. These gloves are made of an elastic material that compresses the hand of a user in an effort to limit the swelling that occurs from inflammation and to promote better blood circulation. Since these compression gloves provide a uniform compression over the surface of the hands and fingers, they are not capable of adequately decreasing the degree to which the hand is able to clench. As a result, these compression gloves are only able to slow the progression of the involuntary clench to a nominal degree, if at all.
Therefore, a need exists for novel therapeutic devices that are able to arrest involuntary clenching of the hands. There is a further need for a novel therapeutic device that can be worn on the hands for long periods of time, such as through the sleep cycle. A further need exists for novel therapeutic devices that are able to train the hand and reverse the effects of involuntary hand clenching. Finally, there exists a need for novel therapeutic devices that are adjustable and able to provide a varying degree of resistance to each individual finger to prevent or reverse the effects of involuntary clenching of the hands.